Today DH and I, with 3 beagles, drove down (in just in a plain ol' vehicle, since we're still RV shopping) to Southern California, 101 from the Bay Area to our old stomping grounds in Orange County to vist FIL, check out RVs, and just visit where we both grew up.

The day was a gorgeous one for driving, and we enjoyed all the coastal views, but it was a different kind of drive today for us. For the first time, we really checked out RVs: what they were towing, if anything; and whether or not the 2 rest stops, at Camp Roberts and Gaviota, had dump stations. (No, they do not.)

We were surprised to see some Class As towing nothing and others towing trucks. And we saw plenty o' CRVs!

Oh, yes, and we really looked at all the great state parks along the coast and at all the RVs parked along the coast. What a perfect day for those folks.

At the Gaviota rest area, we saw a spiffy Thor Windsport with a really nice paint job and walked past it admiringly a few times on the way to and from the pet area. When the owner emerged with a dog leash, I said, "Nice coach," admiringly. It really was. I loved the red on it.

Anyway, it was a different perspective on a much-traveled road. Even if we never do get an RV, it amazed me how differently we looked at what we came across on the drive down.

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Camp Roberts Rest Area is great, it's out lunch spot comming out of Bay Area. I don't like the traffic around the Gaviota stop. We normallhy pull off at Buelton and park along Avenue of Flags for lunch after leaving Morro Bay.

Unfortunately, our daily driver (03 Kia Sedona) is too old and too expensive to modify for four-down (near $3500) and too heavy to dolly tow (4800 pounds). Since it's our only car, we don't use a toad.

Our travels are usually to a different CG each day, so we do our sightseeing en-route. We've considered occasional rental cars, but with two yellow labs, we'd probably get nailed for a big clean-up fee!